First-Person Consent: How It Will Work

Under Illinois' new first-person consent law, the Illinois Organ/Tissue Donor Registry through Secretary of State Jesse White's office will become a centralized registry of all individuals legally documenting their wishes to become donors.

Additional witnesses, signatures or family consent will not be required to carry out donation.

To become a donor, you will enroll in the first-person registry much the same way as you do now: by calling the Illinois Secretary of State Organ/Tissue Donor Program, sending in a request or card, enrolling online or enrolling at any Secretary of State facility.

When a potential donor is identified:

• Procurement coordinators will be dispatched to the hospital.
• They will access the registry to determine whether the patient declared his intent to donate.
• They will introduce themselves to the patient's family to explain the donation process, answer their questions and provide additional support they may need.
• They will ask for current medical information about the patient called a medical/social history, which helps us determine which organs and tissues may be transplanted according to your wishes.
• They will ask family members whether they wish to receive follow-up information after the donation, such as general information about recipients. We will continue to provide our ongoing programs and services for families of donors for as long as they wish.

Illinois Procurement Agencies currently provide all of this support for families. It will not change with the passage of first-person consent. The only change will be that if you have joined the Illinois Organ/Tissue Registry to become a donor, you have given your legal consent to donation. Your family will not be required to make an additional decision.